Device for selectively dispensing solid products from a blister strip retained in the device

ABSTRACT

Device for safeguarding a blister strip and enabling a tablet or the like to be dispensed from a respective housing on the blister strip, which is retained and protected within the device. This latter is formed from a single sheet of cardboard folded about the blister strip, the blisters of which extend through holes provided in a part of the sheet, in the other part of which there being provided breakable knurlings defining removable discs which are aligned with said holes to enable said discs to break with consequent detachment of said discs and expulsion of said tablets when the individual blisters of the blister strip are pressed with the finger of one hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device able to retain and protect ablister strip having a plurality of separate seats containing solidproducts, the device being such as to enable the solid product enclosedin each housing of the blister strip to be selectively expelled when theblister of a housing is pressed with the finger of one hand.

2. Discussion of the Background

Many solid products (for example pharmaceutical products in the form ofpills, tablets, capsules, sugar-coated pills and the like) are known tobe often packaged in blister strips consisting of an easily breakableair-impermeable sheet of aluminium (or other material) thermobonded to asheet of transparent plastic material shaped to form cavities orprojections which, together with the aluminium sheet, define housings inwhich said tablets or the like are positioned and protected. At thesehousings the blister strip presents blisters or the like which can beindividually squeezed or pressed with the finger of one hand to breakthe opposing portion of the aluminium sheet and hence expel therespective tablet from the blister strip.

Blister strips are widely distributed and are sold contained in boxeswhich are mostly formed of cardboard. The boxes—which often containillustrative leaflets, obligatory if the products to be dispensed arepharmaceutical products—are rather bulky and the user often retains onlythe blister strip and disposes of the box. It follows that as thealuminium sheet of the blister strip can be involuntarily broken atundesired points, either when used to expel a single tablet or the like,or while simply retained in a box or handbag, there is the drawback thatone or more tablets or the like can be accidentally expelled from theirrespective housings on the blister strip, or that the aluminium sheetunder a tablet can simply be partially broken, hence leaving the tabletexposed to the outside environment.

In seeking to limit these drawbacks, the thickness of the aluminiumsheet can be increased (so increasing costs and the difficultyencountered in expelling the tablet from the blister strip), or rigiddevices of moulded plastic or metal construction can be used in the formof a box in which to contain the blister strip, this box presentingopposing holes such that the blisters of the blister strip project froma series of holes provided in a wall of the box, to enable eachindividual tablet to be expelled through a hole provided in the opposingwall of the box; this presents serious drawbacks, one of which is itscost, another being that the person who acquires and wishes to use ablister strip must remember to also purchase or carry the box forcontaining the blister strip, a further drawback being that there is noprotection against involuntary expulsion of a tablet each time one ormore blisters are involuntarily squeezed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is provide a device for housingand protecting a blister strip and for enabling an individual tablet tobe dispensed only when the user wishes, and without the danger ofcausing simultaneous expulsion of other tablets or of damaging thealuminium sheet or the like defining the housing, the device being ofextremely low cost and housable in the interior of each box housingblister strips, or be formed in one piece with the cardboard forming thebox housing the blister strip.

These and further objects are attained by a device characterised bybeing formed from a single sheet of cardboard in which a folding line isprovided dividing the cardboard sheet into a first part and a secondpart which are rotatable about said folding line and superposable one onthe other, in the first part there being provided a plurality of holesthrough which the blisters of a blister strip positioned between the twoparts of the folded cardboard sheet can pass, in the second part therebeing provided knurlings defining a plurality of breakable discs whichare aligned with the respective holes of the first part when thecardboard sheet is folded about said folding line, the discs of saidsecond part of the cardboard sheet having dimensions at least equal tothose of the solid products enclosed within the blister strip, which areexpelled from the blister strip and from the device by pressing with thefinger of one hand on a blister of the blister strip and by theconsequent detachment of the disc below said blister.

Preferably at those two ends of the first and second cardboard sheetdistant from said folding line there are provided cuts and respectiverecesses which mutually engage when the cardboard sheet is folded onitself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a clearer understanding of the structure and characteristics of thedevice according to the invention, a preferred embodiment thereof isdescribed hereinafter by way of non-limiting example with reference tothe accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard sheet usable to form the device,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 partlyfolded on itself and shown opposite a blister strip for tablets,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device at the moment of its use, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section through the device of FIG. 3 taken on theline 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen from the drawings, the device is formed from a singlepunched cardboard sheet divided into a first part 1 and a second part 2(substantially identical) by a folding line 3 formed by creasing thecardboard sheet: notches are preferably provided along the folding line3 to facilitate folding of the cardboard sheet and to reduce the elasticforce which the cardboard sheet develops during its folding.

In the part 1 of the cardboard sheet, holes 4 are provided in anarrangement, shape and cross-section such as to enable passage of theblisters 5 projecting from the surface of the blister strip (FIGS. 2-4)which the device is intended to house and protect.

In the part 2 of the cardboard sheet the are provided a plurality ofannular knurlings (not numbered for simplicity), each defining a disc 6which is removable (by breaking its associated knurling). When thecardboard sheet is folded on itself about the folding line 3, the holes4 of the part 1 become each aligned with and superposed on a respectivedisc 6.

At those two ends of the parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet distantfrom the folding line 3 there are provided recesses 7 and respectivecuts 8, the purpose of which is to mutually engage and enable thecardboard sheet folded on itself to remain folded, i.e. unable to open:it can be seen that the recesses 7 define between them an appendix 9 andthat the cuts 8 each define a thin elongate appendix 10.

It will be assumed that the aforedefined device when in its restposition (FIG. 1), in which it lies immediately after being produced bya cardboard article manufacturer, is intended to house a blister strip(of known type such as that indicated by the letter B in FIG. 2) havingblisters 5 projecting from one part thereof to define housings eachenclosing a tablet 11 (the tablet could instead be a capsule, a pill,etc.), whose escape from the respective housing is prevented by a thinsheet of aluminium (or other material) in known manner.

The blisters 5 of the blister strip B are made to penetrate into theholes 4 of the part 1 of the cardboard sheet, which is then folded aboutthe folding line 3 until the blister strip 5 is locked between the parts1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet, as is apparent on viewing FIGS. 2 and 3in succession. At this point the two elongate appendices 10 of the part2 of the cardboard sheet are folded and passed through the recesses 7 ofthe part 1 until superposed on the appendix 9 of the part 1, to hencelock the device in its folded and engaged state shown in FIG. 3.

Under these conditions the blister strip is securely retained andprotected between the two parts 1 and 2 of the cardboard sheet: when atablet is to be expelled from the device, one of the blisters 5 ispressed with a finger (in the direction indicated by the arrow A inFIGS. 3 and 4) until the underlying disc 6 of the part 2 of thecardboard sheet is detached and the aluminium sheet under the pressedblister broken in correspondence of the blister 5, so that the relativetablet 11 falls or escapes.

It can be seen that during the expulsion of the tablet 11, the othertablets remain in their respective housings because the blister strip issecurely retained and protected between the two parts 1 and 2 of thecardboard sheet.

It is important to note that the described device is extremelyeconomical and easy to produce so that a device of this type can beprovided inside each box containing a blister strip.

Indeed, the cardboard sheet of FIG. 1 can very easily be producedtogether with the box, to which it can be connected by a simplebreakable knurled line: in that case the device can be automaticallyinserted into the box at its make-up.

1. A device for selectively dispensing solid products from a blisterstrip retained in the device, wherein the device is formed from a singlesheet of cardboard in which a folding line is provided dividing thecardboard sheet into a first part and a second part which are rotatableabout said folding line and superposable one on the other, in the firstpart there being provided a plurality of holes through which theblisters of a blister strip positioned between the two parts of thefolded cardboard sheet can pass, in the second part there being providedknurlings defining a plurality of breakable discs which are aligned withthe respective holes of the first part when the cardboard sheet isfolded about said folding line, the discs of said second part of thecardboard sheet having dimensions at least equal to those of the solidproducts enclosed within the blister strip, which are expelled from theblister strip and from the device by pressing with the finger of onehand on a blister of the blister strip and by the consequent detachmentof the disc below said blister.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1,wherein at those two ends of the first and second cardboard sheetdistant from said folding line there are provided cuts and respectiverecesses which mutually engage when the cardboard sheet is folded onitself.